Jan. 6, 2000

Box Score

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Justin Gainey missed three free throws over the final 1:11 that could have put North Carolina State's lead out of reach.

But those misses didn't matter after Gainey hit a jumper from the right of the foul line with 1.3 seconds left to give the Wolfpack a 68-66 victory over No. 12 Maryland on Thursday night in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams.

"It was tie game, those are the easier ones to make I think," said Gainey, who scored all 14 of his points in the second half. "I was open. I had to knock that one down."

The Terrapins (11-3) tied the game 66-66 on Danny Miller's basket with 18 seconds to go. When N.C. State (10-1) got the ball back, Gainey nearly ran out the clock and hit the 15-foot jumper for the win.

Terence Morris' long 3-point attempt for Maryland missed at the buzzer.

Gainey was fouled twice in the last minute, but he didn't make any of the free throws. But when Gainey had the ball at the end, those previous misses didn't distract him at all.

"When Miller made that shot, that's when I stopped thinking about those free throws," Gainey said.

Morris led Maryland with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Juan Dixon had 14 points and Lonny Baxter and Miller each had 12.

The Wolfpack had lost to Maryland five straight times in Raleigh and in nine of the last 11 meetings overall.

"Anytime you beat a team that's beat us the way they have in the past, it feels good, kind of like you've lifted the weight off your shoulders," said Damon Thorton, who led N.C. State with 15 points.

The Wolfpack pushed the lead to 64-58 when Damien Wilkins hit two foul shots with 3:36 remaining, but Dixon made two baskets to make it 64-66 with 1:21 to go.

"We had a chance at the end of the game to take the game into overtime, but we didn't play good enough defense. We made a mistake on the last play, and they still had to put the ball into the basket and they did," Maryland coach Gary Williams said.

The Wolfpack, down 27-25 at halftime, opened the second half with three straight baskets to go up 31-30. The lead changed four more times before N.C. State went ahead 36-34 on Wilkins' free throw with 15:56 left.

N.C. State increased its lead to 46-40 on Gainey's 3-pointer with 13:00 remaining, but Maryland went ahead 54-53 on Dixon's basket with 6:46 to go.

The Terrapins couldn't keep the lead for long, and Anthony Grundy hit a 3 to put the Wolfpack ahead again 58-56 with 5:45 left. Grundy finished with 14 points.

N.C. State's new head football coach Chuck Amato, whose hiring was announced earlier Thursday, attended the game and received a standing ovation during halftime. Amato, a former player and coach for the Wolfpack, was an assistant coach for national champion Florida State.